Main Menu

It’s better out than in

There’s only a few days to go till the we vote in the Independence Referendum and I haven’t publicly said much about it apart from some facetious comments about the many, many, many, debates. Was that too many many’s? I dunno I feel I went a bit easy on them seeing the amount of debates that have been on telly the past few months and this little bit of bumph will do as little persuade anyone to vote one way or the other. It’s just the thoughts that have been going round and round in my head when I think about the possibilities that might come from this referendum. There’s nothing new here, you’ll have heard it all before but it’ll be quite cathartic to get it out of my system so don’t expect any facts, merely opinion and point of view.

Hehe cathartic, how very grown up I sound and it’s only took 35 years. 35 and three-quarters.

This is a vote that will most likely break a few hearts depending on the result but not, as some have said, break up Britain. Britain is a mass of land that will still physically be in one piece after September the 18th. There will be nothing on the 19th that will make you any more or less British. That shared history that we’ve had as a British people will still exist. There will be no cataclysmic event that will ripple back through the centuries and rewrite the last 300 years. Ah but the future, now that’s something that could be far more exciting and I hope it will be.

Hope is such a small word isn’t it. Just four letters, one syllable. Small but it can allude to much bigger things. Hope is that one thing that you hear from the Yes side of the campaign. It’s quite a refreshing thing to hear in these austere times. Although the No Campaign may have been more suited to my usual dour and cynical nature I just couldn’t miss this opporchancity for change.

Hope, change, the rejection of cynicism and negativity, this doesn’t come natural to me. Really the No Campaign would have been more suited to my less than optimistic nature and given me the chance to wander round the streets declaring “We’re Doomed!” and in a Scottish accent that really does make it sound like the world is coming to an end. But no. No no no but no as in Yes. For I am Yes voter and according to the media and the No Campaign and their voters I am a bully, ill-educated, and a thug following a cult of deception. The education part I might let go but please I am neither a bully nor a thug….one guy throws an egg and the whole Yes Campaign is branded thuggish but break an old man’s wrist, kick a woman in the stomach, the death threats to the First Minister and…oh wait the media isn’t mentioning that at all? They’re still bringing up the egg thing? Oh right, well I thought…no that’s silly they wouldn’t really ignore the misdeeds of one side and focus solely on an egging would they?

I am also, apparently, a Nationalist. I was not aware of this I thought I was just an ordinary Yes voter. Though with the limited characters available on twitter all Yes voters shall be labelled Nats, no wait my mistake it’s Natz. While Nats would be less inflammatory is appears that alluding that Yes voters are akin to those who committed genocide during the second world war has become the insult du jour of a small number of No voters.

I say small number and I would expect that it is a small number. Both Yes and No will have their collection of perpetually angry individuals that are furious that there are people out there who don’t share their opinions. It’s usually not even constructive opinions more just vacuous statements and insults where they feel they can, nay they must bring the debate down to its lowest possible level. Some people have made it positively subterranean to the point where they can’t see the friends and family they’ve alienated over the mountain of bile that’s been spouted. It hasn’t happened me of course as all my friends know I’m wonderful. Handsome too. But those are the imaginary ones. The real ones just see me as spectacularific.

There’s no doubt that no matter what side you’re on the offensive nature of the other side is going to stand out more than your own side. We see the shit stirring from the other side of the debate and don’t notice the spoon in your own hand and with the aroma of eau de poop filling your nostrils. Which makes me wonder if I should delete a couple of paragraphs up there about the woes of being a Yes voter.

Hmm and other ponderous noises.

No I’ll leave it there. After all it’s better out than in.

I suppose when it comes to the incendiary language we see aimed at ourselves or our chosen side the only thing to do is to rise above it and keep rising and rising some more and I can see my house from here. Oooh rising even more and look, now I spot Westminster.

I look at Westminster and I see a dark and ominous palace where the hush voices of progression are met with full frontal drop kick of the status quo. Can we really expect things to change down there? Will it always be a den of millionaire career politicians where it is not what you know it is who you know. Where they always keep their friends sweet with tax breaks and preferential treatment at the cost of the rest of the populace, rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Will we ever see the end of an unelected House of Lords that spends it’s day sleeping through debates and pocketing a wage for it? When the country has no money to keep people out of poverty is it really a good idea to plough billions into a more efficient way to destroy the planet?

I’m of course referring to replacing Trident. If those nuclear missiles aren’t going to somehow leak the right kind of radiation to give me superpowers then I see no need for having them parked 30 miles from the most densely populated part of Scotland. Oh they’re a deterrent you say? They make Britain stand tall on the world stage. A United Kingdom is better together to tackle all the world’s ills. I do think I hear the subtle clanging of bollocks in the air. Looking at the state the world is in at the moment I can say that the only things it’s safe from is alien attack from beyond the cosmos and super villains will put off their plans for world domination, neither bugger will want the bill for putting it all back together again. I’m not saying it’s all the fault of Westminster, but that’s only because I’m too polite to say so and because really it’s only half their fault.

I just think of what will happen if it’s a No and it’s disappointing….um not disappointing isn’t strong enough a word…erm…depressing…dismal…to the thesaurus. Now let’s see….unpleasant, frustrating, oooh disheartening now that’s a good one. I think all those words would adequately describe the multitude of feelings that I’d feel and I don’t like to feel feelings, they’re kind of icky.

Will things be better in an Independent Scotland? Yes I think it will. It wont be all wine and roses but it might be a bit more Irn Bru and Quality Street. It all comes down to money and who do you think will spend it better. Clearly I think it’ll be better spent by the Scottish Government. It wont be wasted on pointless Lords and Ladies, great big dangerous bombs, even more dangerous and quite illegal wars. Yes we may have a large wealth generating economy that encompasses food, drink, tourism, the creative arts, wind power, water power, oil and gas but it will take a wee while to let everything get settled. A few years, maybe more, probably a lot more. I wouldn’t be so naive as to assume it’ll be easy but I really do think it’ll be worth it.

Aaaah that’s….that’s….bugger I don’t feel any different. I’m sure I missed some stuff out too. A lot of stuff more likely. This late in the day it hardly matters now. If you haven’t made your decision by now then enjoy being the most desired person at the party as everyone chases after you in the hopes you’ll pick them.

Alrighty then let us go onward into the unknown but not just now, it’s dark and outside and there might be wild beasties on the prowl. So…um…that’s it. But if you’re hanging around for a bit I found these videos to be quite enlightening.